Infused with renewed belief, the Belgian held his nerve to clinch the set 6-4.ĭespite a sprinkling of break points, a tight third set went with serve until the sixth game, when Dimitrov earned a break to lead 4-2 as Goffin went wide with a backhand.Īs the tension mounted, Goffin bravely saved three championship points on his own serve but Dimitrov held his nerve to seal the match on his after two-and-a-half hours, at the fifth time of asking. With the pendulum suddenly swinging, Goffin took advantage of two double faults from the racquet of Dimitrov, smashing a forehand winner past him to seal the break in the next game. In the second set, neither player earned a break point until the sixth game, when Goffin saved himself with a dramatic backhand crosscourt shot that caught the sideline. Goffin, 26, landed just 42 percent of first serves in the first set and made 20 unforced errors, struggling to find the bite and consistency he had enjoyed in beating Federer.
The errors continued to flow from a nervy-looking Goffin and Dimitrov finally secured the decisive break on his fifth set point when the Belgian thumped a forehand into the net. The Bulgarian came into the title decider unbeaten at London's O2 Arena, with a healthy 4-1 head-to-head record against Goffin, including a 6-0, 6-2 win in the round-robin stage.īut Goffin was buoyed by wins over world number one Rafael Nadal and and a gutsy effort against second seed Roger Federer, coming back from a set down to beat the Swiss in the semi-finals.īoth players struggled to hold serve at the start of the contest in front of a feisty packed house and the error count was high from both men.Īfter three consecutive breaks, the Belgian was the first to hold his serve, forging ahead 3-1 and the match then settled back into a more predictable pattern.īut as time ran out for Dimitrov, Goffin played a poor service game, going long on a forehand to concede another break of serve as the Bulgarian levelled the match at 4-4.
Full screen Dimitrov celebrates after defeating Goffin in London.
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